Cooking apparatus for two-sided cooking

ABSTRACT

A clamshell type grill having an upper cooking platen mounted on a platen support arm for swinging movement between a lower cook position overlying a lower cooking platen and a raised position inclined upwardly from the lower cooking platen. The upper platen is manually operable to its lower cook position in which an arm stop in the arm engages an arm stop abutment and a pneumatic clamp cylinder is arranged to press and hold the platen support arm in its lower cook position. The upper platen is mounted on the platen support arm for limited floating movement in a direction perpendicular to the upper platen and adjustable platen stops on the platen support arm are arranged to engage platen stop abutments on the upper platen to limit downward movement of the upper platen to a preset lower position relative to the platen support arm and thereby control spacing of the upper platen from the lower platen.

.Iadd.This application is a reissue of Ser. No. 06/768,355, filed8/22/85, U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,428..Iaddend.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Single surface grills are widely used in commercial food serviceestablishments for cooking a wide variety of food products. Some foodproducts such as hamburger patties require cooking on both sides and, insingle surface grills, it is necessary for the operator to turn thepatties after they have been cooked on one side for cooking on thesecond side. This increases the overall cooking time and the amount ofoperator attention required for cooking such food products. In addition,some food products such as hamburger patties tend to shrivel and curlduring one-sided cooking, unless a restraining pressure is applied tothe upper side of the food product. When the food product shrivels orcurls during cooking, the contact area between the food product and thecooking surface is reduced and this adversely affects uniformity ofcooking of the food product and the appearance of the cooked foodproduct.

Cooking apparatus have heretofore been made with upper and lower cookingplatens for two-sided cooking of food products such as hamburgerpatties. Two-sided cooking apparatus generally reduce the overallcooking time and amount of operator attention required for cooking thehamburger patties. However, there are a number of interrelated problemsencountered in two-sided cooking apparatus that are not encountered insingle surface grills.

The upper cooking platen in two-sided cooking apparatus for commercialfood service establishments are generally large enough to enable cookingof a number of individual hamburger patties at the same time. Thehamburger patties are preformed in several different nominal sizes andthicknesses and are commonly frozen for storage and transportation. Thefrozen patties are relatively rigid when initially placed on the lowercooking platen and if the upper platen rests only on the thickest pattyor patties, even small differences in the thickness of the patties inthe group being cooked could delay good heat transmitting contactbetween the upper platen and some of the thinner patties and result inuneven cooking of the patties. On the other hand, the patties soften andshrink or decrease in thickness as they thaw and cook. The weight of theupper cooking platen, if unrestrained or controlled, is such that itcould excessively compress or compact the hamburger patties andadversely affect the texture and appearance of the cooked patties. Thus,two-sided cooking apparatus present several special problems includingaccommodating variations in initial thickness of the individual pattiesin the group being cooked; accommodating the decrease in thickness ofthe patties that occurs during cooking; preventing excessive compactionof the patties; and accommodating different groups of patties ofnominally different thickness. In addition, in two-sided cookingapparatus, there is the problem of moving the upper platen at thebeginning and end of the cooking cycle. In order to facilitate timedcooking, the two-sided cooking apparatus is desirably arranged toautomatically raise the upper platen at the end of a cooking cycle tostop cooking by the upper platen and enable removal of the cookedproducts from the lower platen.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,074 discloses a conveyor type two-sided cookingapparatus in which the upper platen is power operated to a raisedposition. A conveyor advances a group of hamburger patties onto thelower platen and stops and the upper cooking platen is then allowed todrop by gravity onto the upper side of the group of patties on the lowerplaten. Platen stops are provided to control the minimum spacing of theupper platen relative to the lower platen during cooking, to preventexcessive compaction of the cooked patties. After the patties are cookedon both sides, the upper platen is power operated back to its raisedposition generally paralleling the lower platen and the conveyor is thenoperated to move the cooked patties off the lower cooking platen. Suchconveyor type two-sided cooking apparatus are special purpose machinesusable only for cooking certain food products such as hamburger pattiesthat can be advanced by a conveyor onto and off from the lower cookingplaten and they are not adapted to alternative use as a single surfacegrill.

Various clamshell type two-sided cooking apparatus have also been madein which the upper cooking platen is mounted on a platen support arm forswinging movement about a horizontal axis between a lower cook positionand a raised position, and automatically raised at the end of a timedcooking cycle. Some prior art clamshell grills such as disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 2,009791; 4,008,067 and 4,165,682 used counterbalance means toassist raising of the upper platen and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,239 theupper platen is power operated to a raised position by a pneumaticcylinder at the end of a timed cooking cycle. In some prior clamshellgrills, the upper platen is pivotally mounted on the platen support armfor tilting movement about a horizontal axis relative to the platensupport arm to rest the upper surface of the food products. In U.S. Pat.Nos. 2,632,379 and 4,483,239, the upper platen is rigid with the platensupport arm and spacing of the upper platen relative to the lower platenduring cooking is effected by vertically adjusting the pivot at the rearof the platen support arm and adjusting an arm stop at the distal end ofthe platen support arm. Clamshell grills have also been made with aplurality of upper platen stop pins adjustably mounted on the upperplaten and extending downwardly through the cooking face of the upperplaten for engagement with the upper face of the lower platen to controlthe space therebetween. However, the stop pins limited the usablecooking area on the upper and lower platens and made it difficult toclean the upper platen. Further, the stop pins were in the cooking areaand heated by direct contact with the cooking platens, and grease andother debris normally created by cooking hamburgers and the like tendedto bake on the stop pins and impede their adjustment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to clamshell type cooking apparatus havinga lower cooking platen fixedly mounted on a support structure and anupper cooking platen mounted on a platen support arm for swingingmovement about a horizontal pivot axis between a lower cook position anda raised inoperative position.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improvedclamshell type grill apparatus which effectively accommodates variationin initial thickness of the individual patties of the group beingcooked; accommodates a decrease in thickness of the patties that occursduring cooking; accommodates different groups of patties of nominallydifferent thickness; and is adapted to raise the upper end of a timedcooking cycle to stop cooking by the upper platen and enable removal ofthe cooked products from the lower platen.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a clamshell grill in whichthe platen support arm and upper platen are yieldably biased bycounterbalance means to a raised position and the platen support arm andupper cooking platen are adapted to be manually lowered against thecounterbalance force. An arm stop on the distal end of the platensupport arm is provided to engage a fixed arm stop abutment at theforward side of the support structure when the platen support arm is inits lower position, and a pneumatic clamp cylinder is operated when thearm is moved to its lower position to apply a force to the arm in adirection and magnitude to overcome the counterbalance force andyieldably press the arm stop against the arm stop abutment and therebyhold the arm in a fixed position over the lower platen. The upper platenis mounted on the platen support arm for limited floating movementrelative to the arm in a direction peripendicular to the upper platen toaccommodate variations in product thickness and product shrinkage duringcooking, and platen stops are provided on the platen support arm andarranged to engage platen stop abutments that are attached to and spacedabove the upper platen to limit downward movement of the upper platenrelative to the support arm to a preset lower position and therebycontrol the minimum spacing of the upper platen from the lower platenand the final product thickness.

These, together with other objects, features and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the cooking apparatus having dual uppercooking platens, and with one upper cooking platen in a raised position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through the uppercooking platen taken on the plane 2--2 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane3--3 of FIG. 2, and illustrating the parts on a larger scale than FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the plate 4--4 of FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the plane4--4 of FIG. 3 and illustrating the upper platen in a raised position;and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the electrical controls for the cookingapparatus.

The cooking apparatus comprises a rigid support structure 10 having afront 10a and a rear 10b. As best shown in FIG. 4, the support structureis conveniently in the form of a rigid weldment including base framemembers 11, front upright 12, rear uprights 13 and intermediate uprights14 adjacent the rear of the support structure. A lower cooking platen15, formed of a heat conducting material such as steel plate, is mountedas by posts 16 on generally horizontal frame members 17 that extendbetween the front and intermediate uprights 12 and 14. The lower grillplaten has smooth flat upper cooking surface 15a and is heated byheaters which may be of the electrical or gas type if desired. In theembodiment shown, three heaters, conveniently formed of cast aluminumand designated 18a-18c are attached as by bolts to the underside of thelower cooking platen 15 and electrical heating elements 19a-19c areprovided in the heating units 18a-18c respectively. A splash guard 21 isprovided at the rear of the lower cooking platen and a frontcross-member 22 is provided on the support structure at the front sideof the lower cooking platen. The front cross-member 22 is constructedand arranged to provide a rigid upwardly facing arm stop abutment 22a atthe front side of the support structure and the cross member is hereinshown formed of heavy gauge metal with a generally U-shaped crosssection.

In the embodiment illustrated, the lower cooking platen 15 is maderelatively wide, for example of the order of three feet or more, toprovide a large cooking surface and two movable upper platen assembliesdesignated 25 and 25' in FIG. 1 are provided to cooperate with differentareas of the lower cooking platen. As best shown in FIG. 1, the uppercooking platen assemblies 25 and 25' are disposed in side-by-siderelation and each have as width slightly less than one-half of the widthof the lower cooking platen. The upper cooking platen assemblies 25 and25' are like construction and like numerals are used to designatecorresponding parts. Alternatively, a single upper cooking platenassembly could be used, if desired.

Each upper platen assembly includes an upper cooking platen 26 formed ofa heat conducting material such as cast aluminum plate with a flatsmooth cooking surface at the underside and electrical heating elements28 cast into the upper cooking platen.

The upper plate 26 are each mounted on a rigid platen support arm 31 forswinging movement about an axis adjacent the rear of the supportstructure between a lower cook position as shown in FIG. 4 and a raisedposition as shown in FIG. 5. Each platen support arm 32 is convenientlya rigid weldment formed by a pair of side bars 32 that areinterconnected at their foward ends by a cross bar 33 and which are alsointerconnected intermediate their ends by plates 34 and 35. The sidebars 32 are rigidly connected at their rear ends by sector plates 37 andmembers 38 to a cross shaft 41, and an upper cover plate 39 is welded tothe upper side of the rear portions of the side bars 32 and has a rearportion that curves down in an arc concentric with the cross shaft 41and welded to the sector plate 37. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, thecross shaft 41 is offset below the rear ends of the side bars 32adjacent the plane through the upper cooking platen. The ends of thecross shaft 41 and sector plates 37 are mounted as by anti-frictionbearings 43 (FIG. 2) on the intermediate upright 14, to support theplate support arm for swinging movement about the axis of the shaft 41adjacent the rear of the lower cooking plate. Operating arms 45 aresecured as by welding to the cross shaft 41 and extend from the crossshaft in a direction generally opposite the platen support arm 31 andare preferably arranged to be disposed generally horizontal when theplaten support arm is in its lower position as shown in FIG. 4. An armstop 65 is rigidly secured to the foward end of the platen support arm31 and arranged to engage the upwardly facing arm stop abutment 22aformed by the upper face of the cross member 22 at the front of thesupport structure to limit downward movement of the platen support armto a fixed lower position. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the arm stop65 is conveniently formed integrally with a generally U-shaped handlemember 66. The handle member has legs 66a that are rigidly secured insockets 67 on the forward cross member 33 of the platen support arm, andthe arm stop 65 extends downwardly from the intermediate portion of theU-shaped handle member. Thus, the arm stop 65 on the forward end of theplaten support arm engages the forward cross member 22 on the supportstructure to limit downward movement of the platen support arm to afixed lower position as shown in FIG. 4.

Each upper cooking platen 26 is mounted on the respective platen supportarm 31 for floating movement relative thereto in a directionperpendicular to the lower cooking face of the upper platen. For thispurpose, a pair of mounting bars 51 are attached as by shoulder bolts 50to the upper side of the upper heating unit 27 and the bars 51 arepreferably spaced from the upper side of the heating unit 27, exceptthat the points of attachment thereto, to reduce heat transfer from theheating unit to the bars. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bars 51extend from adjacent the rear to adjacent the front of the upper platenand are spaced equally from the opposite sides of the front-to-rearcenterline of the upper platen. Forward and rear guide posts 52a and 52bare attached to each of the bars 51, preferably at locations spaced onthe shoulder bolts to reduce heat transfer to the posts, and the fourguide posts slidably extend through guides 54 in the forward and rearplates 34 and 35 on the platen support arm. Abutment bars 56,conveniently of angle iron, are secured as by bolting to the upper endsof the foward and rear guide posts and extend therebetween. The abutmentbars 56 define downwardly facing platen abutment means at theirunderside and four adjustable platen stops 60a-60d are mounted on theplaten support arm and arranged to engage the downwardly facing platenabutment means to limit downward movement of the upper platen relativeto the support arm to a preset lower position, while allowing limitedfloating movement of the upper platen relative to the support arm abovethat lower position. The adjustable platen stops each include an uprightshaft 58 that is rotatably supported at its lower end in a bushing 59(FIG. 3) attached to one of the plates 34, 35 of the platen support arm,and a turret 61 non-rotatably secured as by bolts to the shaft. Eachturret has a plurality of adjustable stop members, one for each of thedifferent thickness products to be cooked and herein shown four innumber and designated 62a-62d. The stop members 62a-62d are threadedlymounted on the turret for adjustment in a direction parallel to the axisof the shaft 58 and have heads at their upper ends for engaging theplaten abutment stops. A knob or handle 63 is non-rotatably secured onthe upper end of each shaft 58 to enable rotating the shaft to positiona selected one of the adjustable stop members 62a-62d under the platenabutment means formed by the bars 56. The four platen stops 60a-60d arearranged in a generally rectangular pattern respectively adjacent theleft front, left rear, right front and right rear of the upper platen toenable individual adjustment of the lower position of the upper platenat those locations. The platen stops 60a-60d can be rotated when theupper platen is manually lifted relative to platen support arm as byhandle 88, to position corresponding ones of the stop members in anoperative position below the associated abutment means. Detent means 64are provided for each platen stop to releasably retain the associatedplaten stop at the different rotational positions at which the stopmembers 62a-62d are operative to engage the associated abutment means.Thus, stop members 62a on the four platen stops can be individuallyadjusted to uniformily space the upper platen a first distance from thelower platen and the corresponding ones of the other stop members on theother platen stops can be individually adjusted for a different platenspacing. With this arrangement the upper platen is supported for limitedfloating movement relative to the support arm so that it can rest bygravity on the products being cooked, with the downward movement of theupper platen relative to the platen support arm limited bycor-responding ones of the adjustable stop members 62a-62d on the platenstops to control the thickness of the cooked product.

Each upper platen assembly 25, 25' includes a platen housing having aside wall 68 extending upwardly around the periphery of the upper platen26 and a top wall 69 attached to the side wall at a level above theplaten support arm to enclose the platen support arm and the top of theupper platen. The side wall 58 is attached by screws or the like to theedges of the upper platen and a heat shield 70 is mounted as by brackets73 (FIGS. 4 and 5) on the side wall and extends between the side wallabove the upper platen and below the platen support arm to minimize heatradiation from the upper platen to platen support arm, platen stops andthe top wall 68 of the platen housing. The side wall has verticallyelongated openings at the front to allow the legs 66a of the handle toextend therethrough and the top wall has openings to allow the shafts 58of the platen stop to extend upwardly therethrough. The heat shield 70has openings 70a to allow the guide posts 52a-52d to pass upwardlytherethrough. The lower cooking surface of the upper platen ispreferably covered with an anti-stick coating, preferably in the form ofa removable platen cover sheet formed of non-stick material such as"Teflon" or the like and, as shown in FIG. 4, the platen cover sheet isdetachably secured by clamps 75 at the front and rear of the upperplaten assembly.

The platen support arm 31 is yieldably biased away from its lowerposition shown in FIG. 4 towards its raised position shown in FIG. 5 bycounterweights 71 pivotally attached as by a rod 72 to the operatingarms 45 at a location spaced rearwardly from the cross shaft 41. Theweights 71 are selected so as to normally bias the platen support armand the upper platen away from its lower position to its raised positionand such that only a small force on the handle is required to pull thesupport arm and upper platen to its lower position. As the platensupport arm approaches its lower position, a pneumatically operatedclamp is provided and arranged to press the platen support armdownwardly to its lower position with a force sufficient to overcome thecounterbalance force of the weights 71, and to press the stop arm 65firmly against the cross member 22 on the support structure. For thispurpose, an abutment 74 is provided on at least one and preferably bothof the operating arms 45 at locations spaced from the pivot shaft 41 andsuch that abutments are movable in an arcuate abutment path as theplaten support arm is moved between its lower cook position and itsraised position. Pneumatically operated clamp cylinders 76 are mountedas by brackets 77 on frame members 78 of the support structure and theclamp clyinders have plungers 79 that are movable along a linear plungerpath that intersects the arcuate path of travel of the respectiveabutment 74 when the platen support arm is in its lower position. Theplungers of the pneumatic clamp cylinders are normally in the retractedposition as shown in FIG. 5 and means are provided for actuating theclamp cylinders when the platen support arm approcaches its lower cookposition to move the plunger from its retracted position shown in FIG. 5in which it is spaced from the arcuate abutment path as shown in FIG. 5to an extended position engaging the abutment means 74 as shown in FIG.4. The size of the pneumatic clamp cylinders and the pressure of thefluid applied thereto is arranged so that the pneumatic clamp cylinderis operative, when actuated, to press the plungers against the abutments74 with a force sufficient to overcome the counterbalance force of thecounterweights 76 and to press the platen support arm to its lower cookposition with the arm stop 65 firmly engaging the cross member 22. Asbest shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a switch 80 is mounted on the supportstructure and arranged to be engaged by a switch actuating arm 81 thatis movable with the platen support arm, when the platen support armapproaches its lower position shown in FIG. 4. Switch 80 is arranged ina manner described more fully hereinafter to control actuation of thepneumatic clamp cylinders when the platen support arm approaches itslower position, and a means is provided for de-actuating the clampcylinders at the end of a cooking cycle to allow the counterweights tomove the platen support arm and upper platen from its lower to itsraised position. The cooking apparatus advantageously has its owncompressed air supply and, as diagrammatically shown in FIG. 6, air issupplied to the clamp cylinders from an air compressor 117 to acompressed air storage tank or accumulator 121, through an adjustablepressure regulator 125 and flow reversing valve 126 to the clampcylinder 76.

A shock absorbing means is advantageously provided to cushion movementof the platen support arm and upper platen as it approaches its raisedposition. The shock absorbing means is preferably in the form of a dashpot having a cylinder 82 and a plunger 83 yieldably urged by a spring 84to an extended position shown in FIG. 4. The dash pot is mounted as by abracket 85 on the support structure at a location such that the plungerintersects the arcuate path of travel of the abutment 74 on theoperating arm 45 and engages the abutment as the platen support armapproaches its raised position as shown in FIG. 5. As is conventional insuch dash pot type shock absorbers, the cylinder has a means such asrestricted bleed orifice 82a to restrict the rate of flow of air fromthe cylinder 82 and hence control the rate of movement of the plunger 83when it is engaged by the abutment 74. Since the plunger 83 is not fixedto the operating arm 45, it does not impede downward movement of theplaten support arm and platen to its lowered position and does notaffect raising of the upper platen until the upper platen approaches itsfully raised position.

Reference is now made more specifically to the schematic electricaldiagram shown in FIG. 6. The cooking apparatus is advantageouslyarranged to enable cooking on either the left side or the right side orboth sides of the lower cooking platen and with either the left or theright or both of the upper cooking platens. Separate electrical heatersand controls are provided for each side of the unit and the controls foronly one side of the unit are shown in FIG. 6, it being understood thatlike controls are provided for the other side of the unit. Theelectrical heating elements 19a-19c for each side of the lower cookingplaten are connected through respective mercury relays 91a-91c to powersupply conductors and the heating elements 28 for the associated uppercooking platen are connected through mercury relay 93 to the powersupply conductors 92. Mercury relays 91a-91c are controlled bytemperature controllers 94a-94c respectively, each having a temperaturesensing element or thermocouple 96 that is responsive to the temperatureof the associated heater 92a-91c. Mercury relay 93 is controlled by atemperature controller 95 having a temperature sensing element 97responsive to the temperature of the upper cooking platen. Temperaturecontrollers 94a-94c are selectively operated under the control of amanually operated bottom heat switch 98 and temperature controller 95for the upper platen is selectively operated under the control of amanually operable top heat switch 99.

A control circuit including conductors 111 and 112 is connected througha normally open selectively operable switch 113 to a power supply suchas 115 volt supply and conductor 112 is connected to the normally openbottom heat switch 98 and top heat switch 99 to supply power to thetemperature controllers when the switch 113 is closed. The motor for aircompressor 117 is connected through contacts 119a, 119b of pressureoperated switch 118 to control circuit conductors 111 and 112 so thatthe air compressor 117 is energized under the control of the pressureoperated switch. Compressor 117 supplies air under pressure to thepressurized storage tank 121 and pressurized air from the storage tankis delivered through pressure regulator 125 and flow reversing valve 122to the clamp cylinder 79. Pressure switch 118 is connected so as to beresponsive to the pressure in the storage tank 121 and is arranged toopen the switch contacts 119a, 119b when the pressure in the storagetank reaches a preselected upper level to stop the compressor. Valve 122is operated by an electro-responsive actuator or solenoid 123 and isoperative when the solenoid is de-energized to supply air under pressurefrom the tank 121 to the upper end of the clamp cylinder 79 to retractplunger 79a. Valve 122 is operative when the solenoid 123 is energized,to supply fluid pressure to the lower end of the clamp cylinder whileexhausting fluid pressure from the upper end of the clamp cylinder, tothereby extend the clamp cylinder. The pressure regulator 128 isprovided in the pressurized air supply line to regulate the pressuresupplied to the clamp cylinder and hence to control the clamping forceapplied by the clamp cylinder to the upper platen support arm. Anormally open dump valve 153 is connected to the compressed air supplyand is operated to its closed position when the dump solenoid 154 isenergized. Solenoid 154 is energized to close the dump valve 153 whenthe control switch 113 is closed and is deenergized when the switch 113is opened to open dump valve 153 for cleaning the pneumatic system.

As previously described, switch 80 is normally open and is arranged tobe operated to its closed position by a switch actuating arm 81 on thecross shaft 41 when the upper platen is lowered to its cook position.Switch 80 is connected through relay operated switch 131 and normallyclosed contact 131a to an adjustable cook timer 132 to energize the cooktimer when the switch 80 is closed. Cook timer 132 is operative, whenenergized, to immediately close normally open cook timer contacts 132aand to open normally closed cook timer contacts 132b after a preselectedselectively adjustable cook time interval. Cook timer contacts 132a and132b are connected in series with the valve actuating solenoid 123 andthe solenoid 123 is otherwise connected through the normally closedcontact 136a of relay operated switch 136 to the other control circuitconductor 111. Thus, solenoid 123 will be energized to actuate valve 122to a position to extend the clamp cylinder when the cook timer 132 isinitially actuated in response to closing of switch 80, and the solenoid123 will be deactuated when normally closed cook timer contact 132b isopened after a preselected cook time interval. Opening of cook timercontact 132b de-energizes the valve operating solenoid 123 to allowvalve 122 to return to the position shown in FIG. 6 and retract theclamp cylinder plunger 79a. The upper platen then moves to its raisedposition under the yieldable bias of the counterweights.

In the event there is going to be a substantial time interval betweensuccessive cooking cycles, it is desirable to clamp the upper cookingplaten in its lower position in order to reduce heat loss to theatmosphere from the upper and lower cooking platens during this time.Relay operated switch 131 is operated by an electroresponsive actuator141 from a position engaging relay contact 131a to a position engagingrelay contact 131b, when the actuator 141 is energized. Actuator 141 isconnected through a normally open manually operable standby switch 142to the switch 80 and is also connected through normally closed relaycontact 143a of relay operated switch 143 to the control circuitconductor 111. Thus, when the platen support arm is moved to its lowerposition and closes switch 80, the cook timer 132 will be actuated inthe manner previously described to establish a circuit to theelectroresponsive actuator 123 for the valve 122 and thereby actuate theclamp cylinder. Manually operable standby switch 142 can then be movedto its closed position in which it energizes relay 141 to move the relayswitch 131 out of engagement with contact 131a to disable the timer andinto engagement with contact 131b that is connected to the valveactuating solenoid 123 to maintain the solenoid actuated and therebyhold the platen support arm in its lower position in a standbycondition. An indicator light 145 is connected to the standby switch toindicate when the relay 141 is energized, and relay 141 is arranged tooperate a second relay operated switch 146 from a position engagingcontact 146a to a position engaging a contact 146b that is connected tothe indicator light, to maintain the indicator light 145 energized whilethe unit is in a standby condition.

An override relay 147 is connected through normally opened manuallyoperable override switch 148 to control circuit conductor 111 andthrough a conductor 149 and 151 to the contact 131b of relay operatedswitch 131. Override relay 147 is operative when energized to move relayoperated switch 143 out of engagement with contact 143a and intoengagement with contact 143b and to also move relay operated switch 136out of engagement with contact 136a and into engagement with contact136b connected to the relay 147. Thus, when override switch 148 isclosed, it will interrupt the circuit to standby relay 141 to allowrelay switch 141 to move back into engagement with contact 131a. Inaddition, it opens the circuit from the valve actuating solenoid 123 tothe control conductor 111 to de-actuate the solenoid 123 and allow theupper platen to move under the bias of the counterweights to its raisedposition. As will be seen from FIG. 6, override solenoid 149 is alsoconnected through conductor 149 and timer operated relay contacts 132aand 132b to the control circuit conductor 112 so that the valve 123 foroperating the clamp cylinder can be de-actuated if necessary ordesirable during a timing cycle, by merely closing manually operableoverride switch 148.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operation ofthe cooking apparatus will be readily understood. The electrical heaters91a-91c in the lower cooking platen can be selectively energized underthe control of bottom heat switch 98 and temperature controllers 94a-94cso that the cooking apparatus can be used as a single surface grillwithout energizing the upper cooking platen. For two sided grilling, theupper cooking platen is also energized under the control of bottom heatswitch 99 and temperature controller 95.

The upper platen is normally biased to its raised position bycounterweights and, after the food product such as hamburger patties arepositioned on the lower platen, only a small force on the handle 66 isrequired to swing the platen support arm and upper platen to its lowercook position with the arm stop 65 enaging the cross member 22 on thesupport structure. When the upper platen support arm is moved to itslower position, the switch actuating arm 81 closes switch 80 and thisestablishes a circuit through relay operated switch 131 to the cooktimer 132. Cook timer 132 immediately closes contacts 132a to energizethe valve actuator 123 and actuate valve 122 to extend the clampcylinder piston 79a into its clamp position as shown in FIG. 4 to pressthe platen support arm to its lower cook position. Cook timer opensnormally closed contacts 132b after a preselected selectively adjustablecooking time interval to de-energize the valve actuator 123 and allowthe valve 122 to move back to its position shown in FIG. 6 and therebyretract the clamp cylinder plunger. when the clamp cylinder is released,the counterweights move the platen support arm and upper platen back toits raised position.

Some food products such as hamburger patties, particularly when they arein a frozen condition, vary somewhat in thickness and the upper platenis supported on the platen support arm for limited floating movement ina direction perpendicular to the lower cooking surface of the upperplaten so that the upper platen assembly rests by gravity on the uppersurface of the food products when the platen support arm is in its lowerposition with the arm stop 65 engaging the arm stop abutment. The foodproducts shrink somewhat as they are cooked and the upper platen canshift downwardly relatively to the platen support until it engages theplaten stops 60a-60d. The platen stops 60a-60d control the minimumspacing between the upper platen and the lower platen to thereby controlthe final thickness of the cooked products.

When the platen support arm is in its lower position, it is supported atits rear on the cross shaft 41 and at its front by the arm stop 65 at afixed position relative to the lower cooking platen and adjustment ofthe minimum cooking spacing of the upper platen relative to the lowerplaten is effected by adjusting the platen stops that limit downwardmovement of the upper platen relative to the platen support arm. Theplaten stops are disposed entirely above the upper platen so that theentire lower cooking face of the upper platen can be used for cookingand the platen over sheet can extend the full width of the upper platento cover the entire cooking surface of the upper plate. Further, sincethe platen stops do not engage or extend through the upper platen, theyare not exposed to the meat residue, grease and other debris normallyproduced by the cooking of hamburgers and the like. Further, theadjustable stops and their handles are not heated by direct contact witheither the upper platen or the lower platen so that the operatinghandles will remain at a relatively low temperature to enable adjustmentof the platen stops even when the platens are heated.

The timer 132 is arranged to open contacts 132b after the preselectedselectively adjustable cook time interval to de-energize the valveoperating solenoid 123 and allow the plunger of the clamp cylinder tomove to its retracted position so that the upper platen can raise underthe bias of the counterbalance weights.

The clamp cylinder presses the platen support arm to its lower cookposition with a force sufficient to overcome the counterbalance forceand firmly press the arm stop against the arm stop abutment toaccurately position the platen support arm in its lower cook position.However, the platen support arm and upper platen can be manually raisedduring a cooking operation or during standby by merely lifting thehandle 66 until the switch 80 is de-actuated and allows the clampcylinder to retract. Alternatively, override switch 148 can beselectively closed during a cooking operation or during standby tode-actuate the clamp cylinder 76 and allow the platen support arm toraise.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A cooking apparatuscomprising, a support structure having a front and a rear, a lowercooking platen means fixedly mounted on the support structure and havingan upper cooking surface, platen support arm means pivotally mounted onthe support structure for movement about a horizontal pivot axisadjacent the rear of the structure between a lower cook positionextending generally horizontally above the lower cooking platen meansand a raised position inclined upwardly from the lower cooking platenmeans, said support structure including a rigid member forwardly of thelower cooking platen means providing an upwardly facing arm stopabutment, arm stop means on the distal end of said platen support armmeans engageable with said arm stop abutment on support structure forpositively stopping downward movement of said platen support arm meansat said lower cook, position, upper cooking platen means having adownwardly facing cooking surface, a plurality of spaced upright guideposts attached at their lower ends to the upper cooking platen means andextending upwardly therefrom, means on said platen support arm meansguidably engaging said posts intermediate their ends and guiding saidupper cooking platen means for limited floating movement relative to theplaten support arm means in a direction perpendicular to the cookingsurface on the upper cooking platen means, means attached to the postsdefining downwardly facing platen abutment means spaced above the uppercooking platen means, a plurality of adjustable platen stop meansmounted on the platen support means and engageable with the downwardlyfacing platen abutment means for limiting downward movement of the uppercooking platen means to a preselected lower position relative to theplaten support arm means while allowing limited floating of the upperplaten means upwardly from said preselected lower position, operatingarm means rigidly connected to the platen support arm means, upperplaten counterbalance means connected to said operating arm means forapplying a yieldable counterbalance force sufficient to move the platensupport arm means and the upper platen means from said lower to saidraised position, operating arm abutment means on the operating arm meansat a location spaced from said pivot axis and movable with the operatingarm means in an arcuate abutment path as the platen support arm means ismoved between its lower cook position and its raised position, pneumaticclamp cylinder means mounted on the support structure and having plungermeans movable along a linear plunger path generally tangent to thearcuate abutment path and intersecting said arcuate abutment path at alocation to engage said operating arm abutment means when the platensupport arm means is in its lower cook position, means for actuatingsaid clamp cylinder means to move the plunger means from a firstposition spaced from the arcuate abutment path to a second positionengaging said operating arm abutment means and for deactuating saidcylinder means to move the plunger means back to its first position,said pneumatic clamp cylinder means being operative when actuated tosaid second position to press the plunger means against the operatingarm abutment means with force sufficient to overcome the counterbalanceforce and yieldably press the platen support arm means to its lower cookposition with the arm stop means engaging the arm stop abutment.
 2. Acooking apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for actuatingsaid clamp cylinder means includes switch means operated in response tomovement of said control arm means to its lower cook position.
 3. Acooking apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for actuatingsaid clamp cylinder means includes control switch means operated inresponse to movement of said platen support arm means to its lower cookposition, selectively adjustable cook timer means operated by saidswitch means to start a cook timing cycle when said control switch meansis operated, and means controlled by said cook timer means for actuatingsaid clamp cylinder means at the start of the cook timing cycle and fordeactuating said clamp cylinder means at the end of the cook timingcycle.
 4. A cooking apparatus according to claim 3 including manuallyoperable over-ride switch means, and means responsive to operation ofsaid over-ride switch means during a cook cycle for selectivelydeactuating said clamp cylinder means.
 5. A cooking apparatus accordingto claim 3 including manually operable standby switch means, and meansoperative in response to operation of the standby switch means while thecontrol switch means is operated for deactuating the cook timer meansand for actuating the clamp cylinder means to hold the platen supportarm in its lower position in a standby condition.
 6. A cooking apparatusaccording to claim 5 including manually operable over-ride switch means,means responsive to operation of the over-ride switch means during acook timing cycle for selectively de-actuating said clamp cylindermeans, and means responsive to operation of the over-ride switch meanswhen the platen support arm means is in said standby condition forde-actuating said clamp cylinder means.
 7. A cooking apparatus accordingto claim 1 wherein said means for actuating said clamp cylinder meansincludes control switch means operated in response to movement of saidplaten support arm means to its lower cook position, said platen supportarm means being adapted to be manually lifted from its lower cookposition against the yieldable force of said pneumatic clamp cylindermeans to a position in which said control switch means de-actuates saidpneumatic clamp means.
 8. A cooking apparatus according to claim 1including a housing having a marginal side wall means supported on saidupper cooking platen means and extending upwardly therefrom and a covermounted on the side wall means and spaced above the platen support armmeans, and heat shield means extending between the side wall means andoverlying the upper platen support arm means to inhibit heating of thecontrol arm means from the upper cooking platen means.
 9. A cookingapparatus comprising, a support structure having a front and a rear, alower cooking platen means fixedly mounted on the support structure andhaving an upper cooking surface, platen support arm means pivotallymounted on the support structure for movement about a horizontal pivotaxis adjacent the rear of the structure between a lower cook positionextending generally horizontally above the lower cooking platen meansand a raised position inclined upwardly from the lower cooking platenmeans, means adjacent the front of said support structure providing anupwardly facing arm stop abutment, arm stop means on the distal end ofsaid platen support arm means engageable with said arm stop abutment forpositively stopping downward movement of said platen support arm meansat said lower cook position, upper cooking platen means having adownwardly facing cooking surface, means mounting the upper cookingplaten means on the platen support arm means for limited floatingmovement relative to the platen support arm means in a directionperpendicular to the cooking surface on the upper cooking platen means,means on the upper cooking platen means defining downwardly facingplaten abutment means spaced above the upper cooking platen means, aplurality of adjustable platen stop means mounted on the platen supportmeans and engageable with the downwardly facing platen abutment meansfor limiting downward movement of the upper cooking platen means to apreselected lower position relative to the platen support arm meanswhile allowing limited floating of the upper platen means upwardly fromsaid preselected lower position, operating arm means rigidly connectedto the platen support arm means, upper platen counterbalance meansconnected to said operating arm means for applying a yieldablecounterbalance force sufficient to move the platen support arm means andthe upper platen means from said lower to said raised position,operating arm abutment means on the operating arm at a location spacedfrom said pivot axis and movable with the operating arm means in anarcuate abutment path as the platen support arm means is moved betweenits lower cook position and its raised position, pneumatic clampcylinder means mounted on the support structure and having plunger meansmovable along a linear plunger path generally tangent to the arcuateabutment path and intersecting said arcuate abutment path at a locationto engage said operator arm abutment means when the platen support armmeans is in its lower cook position, means for actuating said clampcylinder means to move its plunger means from a first position spacedfrom the arcuate abutment path to a second position engaging saidoperator arm abutment means and for deactuating said cylinder means tomove the plunger means back to its first position, said pneumatic clampcylinder means being operative when actuated to said second position topress the plunger means against the operating arm abutment means withforce sufficient to overcome the counterbalance force and yieldablypress the platen support arm means to its lower cook position with thearm stop means engaging the arm stop abutment.
 10. A cooking apparatusaccording to claim 9 including shock absorbing dash-pot means mounted onthe support structure and having a dash-pot plunger movable along a pathgenerally tangent to the arcuate abutment path and intersecting thearcuate abutment path at a location to engage the operator arm abutmentmeans when the platen support arm means approaches its raised position..Iadd.
 11. A cooking apparatus, comprising:a support structure having afront and a rear; a lower cooking platen fixedly mounted on said supportstructure; a stop abutment adjacent said front of said supportstructure; a support arm mounted on said support structure for movementabout said rear of said structure between a lower cook positionextending generally horizontal above said lower cooking platen and araised position inclined upwardly from said lower cooking platen,including an arm stop on the end of said support arm and engageable withsaid stop abutment for positively stopping downward movement of saidsupport arm at said lower cook position; an upper cooking platen mountedon said support arm for limited floating movement relative to saidsupport arm; and adjustable stop means mounted on said support arm andengageable with said upper platen for limiting downward movement of saidupper platen to one of a plurality of different, preselected lowerpositions while allowing limited floating of said upper platen upwardlytherefrom..Iaddend. .Iadd.12. The cooking apparatus of claim 11 whereinsaid support arm includes a forward portion which mounts said uppercooking platen, an intermediate pivot portion, and a rear portionextending rearwardly therefrom; pivot means for pivotally mounting saidpivot portion of said support arm to said support structure;counterbalance means connected movably to said rear portion of saidsupport arm for applying a yieldable counterbalance force sufficient tomove said forward portion of said support arm and said upper platen fromsaid lower position to said raised position..Iaddend. .Iadd.13. Thecooking apparatus of claim 12 further including cylinder means mountedon said support structure and having a movable plunger, means connectingsaid plunger to the support arm for causing said plunger to move along apath which overcomes the counterbalance force and yieldably forces saidplaten support arm to remain in its lower cook position against saidforce of said counterbalance..Iaddend. .Iadd.14. The cooking apparatusof claim 11 wherein said arm stop on the end of said support arm extendsdownwardly from a generally U-shaped handle member at said front of saidsupport arm for allowing an operator to manually grasp said handle andlower said support arm and upper platen into said lower cookposition..Iaddend. .Iadd.15. The cooking apparatus of claim 11 whereinsaid adjustable stop means comprises a plurality of spaced uprightguides attached at their lower ends to said upper cooking platen andextending generally upwardly therefrom, said guides being movablydisposed through said support arm and having means attached at the upperends of said guides defining platen abutment means spaced above saidsupport arm, and means arranged on said support arm for engaging saidplaten abutment means to limit said downward movement..Iaddend..Iadd.16. The cooking apparatus of claim 11 wherein said adjustable stopmeans comprises a plurality of adjustable spacing mechanisms located onsaid support member for selecting different minimum spacing of saidupper platen away from said lower platen, each mechanism having aplurality of individually selectable settings to define differentminimum spacings..Iaddend. .Iadd.17. The cooking apparatus of claim 16wherein said spacing means includes means for selectively adjusting saidpredetermined minimum spacing to any one of a plurality of differentpredetermined minimum spacing..Iaddend. .Iadd.18. The cooking apparatusof claim 11 further comprising retaining means operatively associatedwith said support arm for releasably retaining said support arm in saidlowered position..Iaddend. .Iadd.19. The cooking apparatus of claim 11further comprising a splash guard at said rear of said support structureand extending generally upward therefrom..Iaddend. .Iadd.20. The cookingapparatus of claim 11 further comprising counterbalance means connectedto said support arm for applying a yieldable counterbalance forcesufficient to move said support arm to said raised position..Iaddend..Iadd.21. The cooking apparatus of claim 11 further comprisinglow-friction sheet means juxtaposed to the surface of said upper platenfor contact with food products being cooked..Iaddend. .Iadd.22. Thecooking apparatus of claim 11 wherein said lower cooking platencomprises a substantially flat steel grill plate which provides a lowercooking surface, at least one heating assembly comprising an aluminumcasting containing an electrical heating element, and means joining saidheating assembly to the lower surface of said lower cookingplaten..Iaddend. .Iadd.23. The cooking apparatus of claim 11 whereinsaid lower cooking surface comprises steel and said upper platencomprises aluminum..Iaddend. .Iadd.24. A cooking apparatus, comprising:alower cooking platen defining a substantially horizontal lower cookingsurface; an upper cooking platen defining a substantially flat uppercooking surface; a support member on which said upper platen is carriedand movable between a raised inactive position and a lowered activeposition in which said upper cooking surface is generally parallel tosaid lower cooking surface; floating means for mounting said upperplaten on said support member for limited relative vertical movementwith respect thereto when said support member is in said lowered activeposition to effect two-sided cooking of food products positioned betweensaid cooking surface; adjustable means on said support member formaintaining one of a plurality of different minimum spacings betweensaid upper cooking platen and said lower cooking platen when saidsupport member and said lower platen are in said lowered position, saidadjustable means being located solely within the upper platen with theupper cooking surface being free of said adjustable means; and spacingcontrol means located on the exterior of said upper cooking platen andconnected to said adjustable means for selecting different ones of saidplurality of minimum spacings..Iaddend. .Iadd.25. The cooking apparatusof claim 24 wherein said spacing control means causes a plurality ofstop members each of different length to move into alignment with anabutment, the lengths of said plurality of stop members defining saidplurality of different minimum spacings..Iaddend. .Iadd.26. The cookingapparatus of claim 25 wherein said plurality of stop members arethreadedly mounted to a base for individual adjustment of the lengththereof..Iaddend. .Iadd.27. The cooking apparatus of claim 26 whereinthe spacing control means includes a handle secured to a shaft rotatablymounted to said support member for causing the stop members to move intoalignment with the abutment..Iaddend. .Iadd.28. The cooking apparatus ofclaim 27 further comprising detent means for releasably retaining saidshaft at any one of a plurality of predetermined rotationalpositions..Iaddend. .Iadd.29. The cooking apparatus of claim 24 whereinsaid adjustable means comprises a plurality of spaced upright guidesattached at their lower ends to said upper cooking platen and extendinggenerally upwardly therefrom, said guides being movably disposed throughsaid support member and having means attached at the upper ends of saidguides defining platen abutment means spaced above said support member,and means arranged on said support member for engaging said platenabutment means to limit said downward movement..Iaddend. .Iadd.30. Thecooking apparatus of claim 29 wherein said means for engaging saidplaten abutment means is adjustable to preselected heights relative tosaid support member while allowing said limited relative verticalmovement of said upper platen..Iaddend. .Iadd.31. The cooking apparatusof claim 24 further comprising a rigid member forwardly of said lowerplaten providing an upwardly facing arm stop abutment, and arm stopmeans on the distal end of said support member engageable with said armstop abutment for positively stopping downward movement of said supportmember at said lower cooking position..Iaddend. .Iadd.32. The cookingapparatus of claim 24 further comprising retaining means operativelyassociated with said support member for releasably retaining saidsupport member in said lowered position..Iaddend. .Iadd.33. The cookingapparatus of claim 24 further comprising counterbalance means connectedto said support member for applying a yieldable counterbalance forcesufficient to move said support member to said raised position..Iaddend..Iadd.34. The cooking apparatus of claim 24 furthercomprising:counterbalance means operatively connected to said supportmember for moving said support member from said lowered position to saidraised position; retaining means operatively connected with said supportmember for releasably retaining said support member and said upperplaten in said lowered position against the action of saidcounterbalance means; and control means for selectively operating saidretaining means for automatically affecting release of said retainingmeans whereby said upper platen and said support member are moved fromsaid lower position to said upper position by the act of saidcounterbalance means..Iaddend. .Iadd.35. The cooking apparatus of claim24 further comprising a splash guard at said rear of said supportstructure and extending generally upward therefrom..Iaddend. .Iadd.36.The cooking apparatus of claim 24 further comprising low-friction sheetmeans juxtaposed to the surface of said upper platen for contact withfood products being cooked..Iaddend. .Iadd. . A cooking apparatus,comprising:a support structure having a front and a rear; a lowercooking platen fixedly mounted on said support structure; a supportmember mounted on said support structure for movement about said rear ofsaid structure between a lower cook position extending generallyhorizontally above said lower cooking platen and a raised positioninclined upwardly from said lower cooking position; an upper cookingplaten mounted for limited floating movement relative to said supportmember, said upper platen having a plurality of guides attached at oneend to said upper cooking platen and extending generally upwardlytherefrom, said guides being movably disposed through said supportmember and having means attached at the upper ends of said guidesdefining platen abutment means spaced above said support member; andstop means arranged on said support member for engaging said platenabutment means to limit said downward movement..Iaddend. .Iadd.38. Thecooking apparatus of claim 37 wherein said stop means comprises aplurality of stop members threadedly mounted to a base for individualadjustment of the height thereof with said base being rotatable to alignone of said stop members with said platen abutment means..Iaddend..Iadd.39. The cooking apparatus of claim 38 further comprising detentmeans for releasably retaining said base at any one of a plurality ofpredetermined rotational positions..Iaddend. .Iadd.40. The cookingapparatus of claim 37 further comprising a rigid member forwardly ofsaid lower platen providing an upwardly facing arm stop abutment, andarm stop means on the distal end of said support member engageable withsaid arm stop abutment on the support structure for positively stoppingdownward movement of said support member at said lower cookingposition..Iaddend. .Iadd.41. The cooking apparatus of claim 37 furthercomprising retaining means operatively associated with said supportmember for releasably retaining said support member in said loweredposition..Iaddend. .Iadd.42. The cooking apparatus of claim 37 furthercomprising counterbalance means connected to said support member forapplying a yieldable counterbalance force sufficient to move saidsupport member to said raised position..Iaddend. .Iadd.43. The cookingapparatus of claim 37 further comprising: counterbalance meansoperatively connected to said support arm for moving said support armfrom said lowered position to said raised position; retaining meansoperatively connected with said support member for releasably retainingsaid support member and said upper platen in said lowered positionagainst the action of said counterbalance means; and control means forselectively operating said retaining means for automatically affectingrelease of said retaining means whereby said upper platen and saidsupport arm are moved from said lower position to said upper position bythe act of said counterbalance means..Iaddend. .Iadd.44. The cookingapparatus of claim 37 wherein said lower cooking surface comprises steeland said upper platen comprises aluminum..Iaddend. .Iadd. . A cookingapparatus, comprising:a support structure; a lower cooking platenmounted on said support structure; a support member pivotally mounted onsaid support structure for movement between a lower cook positiongenerally horizontal above said lower cooking platen and a raisedposition inclined upwardly from said lower cooking platen, said supportmember having a forward portion, an intermediate pivot portion and arear portion extending rearwardly therefrom; an upper platen mounted onsaid forward portion of said support member; counterbalance meansconnected to said rear portion of said support member for applying ayieldable counterbalance force sufficient to move said forward portionof said support member and said upper platen from said lower position tosaid raised position; and cylinder means on said support structure andhaving a plunger movable along a path to a location to press againstsaid support member with force sufficient to yieldably press saidsupport member to said lower position..Iaddend. .Iadd.46. The device ofclaim 45 wherein said cylinder includes means for moving said plungerbetween a first retracted position and a second extended positionengaging said support member..Iaddend. .Iadd.47. The device of claim 46wherein said moving means comprises a pneumatic cylinder..Iaddend..Iadd.48. The device of claim 46 wherein said means for actuating saidcylinder means includes switch means operated in response to movement ofsaid support member to said lower position..Iaddend. .Iadd.49. Thedevice of claim 46 wherein said means for actuating said cylinder meansincludes control switch means operated in response to movement of saidsupport member to said lower cooking position, selectivley adjustablecook timer means operated by said switch means to start a cook timingcycle when said control switch means is operated, and means controlledby said cook timer means for actuating said cylinder means at the startof the cook timing cycle and for deactuating said cylinder means at theend of the cook timing cycle..Iaddend. .Iadd.50. The device of claim 49,further comprising manually operable over-ride switch means, and meansresponsive to operation of said over-ride switch means during a cookcycle for selectively deactuating said cylinder means..Iaddend..Iadd.51. The device of claim 50, further comprising manually operableover-ride switch means, means responsive to operation of the over-rideswitch means during a cook timing cycle for selectively deactuating saidcylinder means, and means responsive to operation of said over-rideswitch means when said support member is in said standby condition fordeactuating said cylinder means..Iaddend. .Iadd.52. The device of claim49, further comprising manually operable standby switch means, and meansoperable in response to operation of the standby switch means while saidcontrol switch means is operated for deactuating said cook timer meansand for actuating said cylinder means to hold said support member insaid lower position in a standby condition..Iaddend. .Iadd.53. Thedevice of claim 46 wherein said means for actuating said cylinder meansincludes control switch means operated in response to movement of saidsupport member to said lower cooking position, said support member beingadapted to be manually lifted from its lower cooking position againstthe yieldable force of said cylinder means to a position in which saidcontrol switch means deactuates said cylinder means..Iaddend. .Iadd.54.A cooking apparatus, comprising:a support structure; a lower cookingplaten mounted on said support structure; a support member pivotallymounted on said support structure for movement between a lower cookposition generally horizontal above said lower cooking platen and araised position inclined upwardly from said lower cooking platen, saidsupport member having a forward portion, an intermediate pivot portionand a rear portion extending rearwardly therefrom; an upper platenmounted on said forward portion of said support member; counterbalancemeans connected to said rear portion of said support member for applyinga yieldable counterbalance force sufficient to move said forward portionof said support member and said upper platen from said lower position tosaid raised position; and shock absorbing means mounted on said supportstructure and having a plunger positioned to engage said support memberwhen said support member approaches said raised position for absorbingthe force of movement of the upper platen and counterbalancemeans..Iaddend. .Iadd.55. The device of claim 54 wherein said shockabsorbing means comprises a dash-pot..Iaddend. .Iadd.56. The device ofclaim 54 wherein said upper platen is mounted on said support member forlimited floating movement relative to said support arm..Iaddend..Iadd.57. The device of claim 56 further comprising adjustable stopmeans mounted on said support member and engageable with said upperplaten for limiting downward movement of said upper platen to one of aplurality of different, preselected lower positions while allowinglimited floating of said upper platen upwardly therefrom..Iaddend.